What is that vacant lot on the Strip?
While the Las Vegas Strip is packed with resort-casinos and activity, there’s still large vacant lots on the famous thoroughfare.
Some of those vacant lots are projects in the works, while others may be held for future development. Still others are spots for concerts and major events. Here’s a list of the empty lots along Las Vegas Boulevard and what we know about them as of March 2024.
Las Vegas Festival Grounds
Almost 40 acres at the southwest corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard make up two lots that often sit empty. The Las Vegas Festival Grounds, owned by billionaire Phil Ruffin, come alive several times a year. Recent music festivals at the site include Lovers and Friends and When We Were Young.
All-Net Arena site
Across from the festival grounds and directly north of the Fontainebleau sits a 26-acre lot that had big hopes to be a basketball arena.
All Net Resort and Arena is a long-sought project from former NBA player Jackie Robinson. First introduced in 2013, the $5 billion project was delayed several times.
In November, the Clark County Commission denied extending a land use permit to the site because of the lack of progress. An LLC named after the project still owns the land, Clark County property records show.
Las Vegas Convention Center site
A 10-acre lot across from Circus Circus is currently owned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, but could have a future development plan executed in the next decade.
The LVCVA has a sale plan for the former site of the Riviera resort with 65SLVB, a partnership between developers Brett Torino and Paul Kanavos. The pair developed retail complexes Harmon Corner – whose tenants include Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and the Rainforest Cafe at the northeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue – and 63, a complex that includes Ocean Prime and the Museum of Illusions on the southwest corner of that intersection.
The sale is not final yet, as the county is executing an excavation-and-fill project.
Siegel Group site
Directly south of the former Riviera site is a roughly 13-acre lot owned by real estate investor Steve Siegel.
Siegel is founder of The Siegel Group, the firm behind flexible stay apartments Siegel Suites, and Amazing Brands, the operators behind Siegel’s Bagelmania – and the Pinkbox Doughnuts chain.
The group hasn’t publicly identified their plans for the land.
Tishmar and Wynn-owned sites
Across from the Wynn and Encore Resorts sits about 38 acres of land where few plans are solidified.
Several parcels on the land have been identified for hotel-casino development over the years, including the failed Alon project. Most recently, Wynn acquired the lot in 2017 for a possible third tower. The company hasn’t committed to a specific timeline for development.
Three Affiliated Tribes land
About 23 acres across from the Luxor makes up one of the southernmost empty lots on the Strip. The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation spent $115 million for the former site of the Route 91 Harvest Festival over the past three years without concrete plans for the sites, the Review-Journal reported in a 2023 investigation.
Skyvue spot
Several parcels just south of the former music festival site, and directly across Las Vegas Boulevard from Mandalay Bay, include some interesting landmarks.
Perhaps the most notable is the two 247-foot concrete towers, sitting unfinished. They’re a relic of the failed observation wheel project Skyvue, first proposed in May 2011. Financial difficulties stopped the project, leaving the two pillars standing for years to come.
Also currently sitting on that lot is Illusionist Jay Owenhouse’s show in a black-and-white tent.
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.